November Has Come
by Audra Bennington
Summary: Dallas deals with the grief of losing Johnny and, briefly his sanity.Cherry has left and he vows to stand alone just like he always has. What will happen when he joins Ponyboy and the gang for a night at the drive-in? DallyxOc! M for future chapters.


**Disclaimer : I do not own the Outsiders, S.E. Hinton Does. This is my first Fanfic, so I welcome any reviews or PM's! ****This is gonna start off kinda slow. The rating is for language and for future chapters. I'm twisting the original plot and making it so that Dallas doesn't die. I wanted to keep Johnny Cade too but I felt like his death gives Dallas more depth. Sorry Johnny fans! **

**Enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

The slap of boots walking through puddles, and the crunch of fall leaves was all the noise that Dallas Winston could hear as he walked aimlessly through the familiar streets he had grown to love, though he wouldn't admit that. He didn't own a watch, but as his icy blue eyes scanned the horizon he could see the sky dancing from night to day. He guessed it was somewhere around 5 :15 in the morning. The streetlights flickered like fireflies and every now and then a stray dog would howl in the distance. A rough hand ran through his hair as he cursed himself for still being awake. The neon sign at the DX station glowed though it would not be open for hours. Lighting a cigarette he rounded the corner and came to the fountain where Ponyboy and Johnny Cade had come to be in the mess that had cost Johnny his life and Ponyboy his sanity. He exhaled through his nostrils and kicked a glass bottle as he thought back to the fateful night that the gang had lost Johnny.

Hot tears welled up in his eyes and for a split second in the watery blur he saw Johnny running past him. So close he could have reached his fingers out and grabbed him by his jacket collar. He tossed the cigarette into the fountain and ran. He ran with desperation, his lungs heaving from too many cigarettes and his face stinging as the tears streamed down his cut face. He didn't know how long they ran, it felt so real to him. He knew Johnny was dead, but here he was running right in front of him. When Johnny finally stopped the sun had broken up over the hills and the light was pouring out of the ruins of the church where the accident took place. Dallas stared him straight in the eyes and watched as he disappear in a cloud of smoke. He tried unsuccessfully to come his nerves and fight back the tears that were begging to be let out. '_Shit_.' he said, his voice hoarse and low as he dropped to his knees. It had been like this for months; Johnny would appear and lead Dallas somewhere that was of significance to he and the gang. It was almost like he would try to say something to him but no words ever left his lips. He always disappeared when Dallas was close enough to touch him. If only they could all see him now. He knew that the world was a cruel place, and he was no stranger to pain, but something about Johnny's death really messed him up. "_Everyone has a boiling point Dally, you're not invincible you know_." Cherry Valance had tried to drill that into his head and provide what little comfort she could, but it seemed as though she would get two steps forward and three steps back. It happened abruptly, Cherry's mother left her father so she went with her, promising to write Dallas every week. The night before she left they made love in the back of his car and he gave her his bandana so she could have something to remember him by. "_Why Dallas Winston, bandana or not, I will always remember you_." She whispered, her full red lips brushing against his ear. Time passed and the letters seemed to come farther and farther apart until one day they just up and stopped. He used to think up excused for her as to why she would stop writing, until it dawned him that he was perfectly fine without her and he would be perfectly fine without anyone else in his life until the time came that it was he they'd be lowering into a pine box. It took him longer to make his way back to the Curtis house than he thought it would, but comparing it to his run there seemed foolish. He thumbed the small box in the pocket of his leather jacket and sighed. It was the youngest Curtis brother's birthday and though he wasn't much for birthday's he promised himself he'd do right by Ponyboy and make sure that he had a good day. As he approached the house a flock of geese flew overhead, honking as they formed a "V" shape. "Lucky bastards. I wish I could just run away when the weather started getting shitty." he grumbled. He caught his reflection in a nearby puddle and combed his hair back, the man staring back at him didn't appear to have changed, he was still the same devilishly handsome guy he'd always been, save few new cuts from scraping around with Steve settled on the side of his face. He rapped on the door, peeking through the blinds and sighed. "S'freezing out here...Open up." He yelled. Inside Darry Curtis rolled his eyes as he sipped his coffee. "It's open Dally." he replied, setting his newspaper down. Dallas smirked as he jiggled the doorknob and stepped inside, the house smelled of coffee, chocolate cake and bacon. "Ponyboy up yet?" He asked as he flopped on the couch next to Two-Bit. "Just about." Soda replied as he walked out of the bedroom rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He grinned and headed toward the cake. "Don't even think about it Sodapop." Darry warned. "I told your brother we'd wait until he woke up and that's what we're gonna do." Soda made a face behind his brother at Dallas and Two-Bit. He stuck his tongue out and waggled his fingers at the side of his face. "I can see you in the mirror above T.V." Darry replied simply as he rose an eyebrow. The room was filled was laughter as the two eldest Curtis brothers began to playfully wrestle in the kitchen. Ponyboy joined everyone in the kitchen and soon the room was filled with the sound of silver wear clanking, the Happy Birthday song and the shredding of wrapping paper. "Any exciting plans for tonight kid?", Dallas asked as he dug into a slice of cake. "I was thinkin' of going to the movies or somethin'." Pony replied. "Any lady-friends accompanying you this time?", Two-Bit teased. Blush appeared on Ponyboy's cheeks as he scratched the back of his neck. "Naw. I think you guys scared em' all off.", he said as he laughed gently. Days before Ponyboy had been seen making out at the drive-in with a pretty girl from his English class Ruth Price and the gang had teased him for it ever since. Soon Darry and Soda left the house, leaving in opposite directions for what life had in store for them today. Soda hitched a ride with Steve to the DX and Darry headed east for a roofing job. Slowly the house emptied out as Ponyboy and Two-bit went off to school and Dally went off to chase skirts and whatever came his way.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed that! I'll try to update as frequently as possible. I have the story mapped out in my head. Yes there is an OC for Dallas. I promise no Mary-Sue ing. She and Dallas's relationship will be loosely based off of some that I have experienced and witnessed.

xox Audra.


End file.
